ART Therapy Pittsburgh: How Virtual Accelerated Resolution Therapy Can Help You Heal
If you’re searching for ART therapy in Pittsburgh, chances are you’re looking for relief from trauma, anxiety, or emotional pain that’s been holding you back. You may have already tried traditional talk therapy—or you may be trying to avoid it altogether. Either way, there's a highly effective, research-supported treatment available to you: Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART).
As a Pennsylvania-licensed therapist, I offer virtual ART therapy for Pittsburgh residents, helping people achieve rapid, lasting healing from the comfort and privacy of their own homes. Whether you’re managing complex trauma, anxiety, grief, or a painful memory you just can’t shake, ART can help you shift how that experience lives in your body and brain—often in as few as 1 to 5 sessions.
In this post, we’ll explore:
What Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is
How ART is different from traditional therapy
What issues ART can treat
What to expect from a virtual ART session
The science behind ART (with peer-reviewed sources)
How you can get started with virtual ART therapy from Pittsburgh
What Is Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)?
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is a fast-acting, brain-based treatment that helps clients eliminate the distress associated with traumatic memories, anxiety, grief, and other painful emotions.
ART was developed by Laney Rosenzweig, LMFT, in 2008 and is grounded in evidence-based therapies like EMDR, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), imagery rescripting, and somatic processing.
What makes ART unique is its use of eye movements to help reprocess distressing memories—without the need to talk in detail about what happened. Clients remain fully in control throughout the session and work through traumatic memories by replacing disturbing images with more neutral or positive ones, a process known as voluntary image replacement.
Who Can Benefit from ART Therapy?
ART has been proven effective for a wide range of emotional and psychological issues, including:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Childhood trauma and complex trauma
Anxiety and panic attacks
Depression
Grief and loss
Phobias and fears
Obsessive thoughts
Low self-esteem
Relationship trauma or betrayal
Workplace burnout
Health-related stress
If you live in Pittsburgh and are struggling with any of the above, virtual ART therapy can help—no need to travel across town, sit in traffic, or wait months for appointments.
Why People in Pittsburgh Are Choosing Virtual ART Therapy
As Pittsburgh continues to grow as a hub for healthcare, education, and tech, many residents are balancing high-demand jobs, parenting, academic pressures, or caregiving responsibilities—while carrying emotional burdens that weigh them down.
Virtual therapy offers:
Convenience – No commute, parking hassles, or time off work
Privacy – Attend sessions from the comfort of your own home
Accessibility – Great for people with chronic illness, mobility issues, or anxiety about leaving home
Rapid Results – ART often provides relief in just a few sessions
You don’t have to leave the city or search far and wide to find effective trauma therapy. With virtual ART, healing is literally at your fingertips.
ART Therapy vs. Traditional Talk Therapy
Let’s break down some key differences between ART and traditional therapy:
If you’ve been in therapy before and feel like you’ve “talked it to death” without significant relief—or if you’re new to therapy and dread revisiting old wounds—ART can offer a fresh approach that works differently.
What Happens in a Virtual ART Therapy Session?
Despite being delivered virtually, ART is just as effective online as it is in person. Here’s what a typical session looks like:
1. Identify the Distress
You’ll choose a specific memory, emotion, or bodily sensation you want to address.
2. Eye Movements
Using guided hand movements on camera (or a light bar if you prefer), I’ll guide you through sets of rapid eye movements that help your brain process distress at a neurological level.
3. Image Replacement
Once the emotional intensity is reduced, you’ll replace the distressing image with one that’s calming, empowering, or neutral.
4. Review & Closure
We’ll review the changes together and make sure your emotional response is significantly improved.
Each session lasts about 50–120 minutes, and many clients feel a substantial shift by the end of the first session.
What the Research Says About ART
ART isn’t just a “trendy” therapy—it’s backed by solid peer-reviewed research. Here are a few highlights:
A 2013 randomized controlled trial published in Behavioral Sciences found that ART significantly reduced symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety in U.S. service members and veterans after just 3 sessions (Kip et al., 2013).
A follow-up study published in Military Medicine showed that ART improved not only PTSD symptoms, but also physical pain associated with traumatic stress (Kip et al., 2016).
A comprehensive review in Frontiers in Psychology concluded that ART is safe, well-tolerated, and effective for a variety of trauma-related conditions (Waits et al., 2017).
“ART allows for efficient reprogramming of distressing memories, often eliminating the need for long-term therapy.”
— Frontiers in Psychology, 2017
This evidence aligns with what I see in my virtual practice—clients across Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania making real progress in just a few sessions.
Who I Am: Your ART Therapist
I’m Laura Geftman, LCSW, a licensed therapist in Pennsylvania offering virtual ART sessions to adults in Pittsburgh and statewide. My work is rooted in psychodynamic theory, attachment science, and trauma-informed care, and I’ve helped hundreds of clients heal from trauma and emotional overwhelm using ART.
I specialize in working with:
Adults with complex trauma
Healthcare professionals, educators, and first responders
Creative professionals and entrepreneurs
People managing chronic stress or burnout
Clients who’ve “tried everything” and need a new approach
My approach is warm, clear, collaborative—and focused on getting you real results.
Real Client Feedback
“I’ve done years of therapy and never felt real relief—until ART. It’s like the trauma is no longer running my life.”
— Virtual Client from Pittsburgh
“I didn’t have to talk about the worst parts of my experience, and I still got closure. That’s everything.”
— Client, Pennsylvania
“After just two sessions, I stopped having nightmares I’d had for over a decade.”
— ART Client
Can Virtual ART Therapy Really Work?
Absolutely. In fact, many clients say virtual ART feels more comfortable and safe, since they can do it in familiar surroundings.
All you need is:
A quiet, private space
A device with a camera
A reliable internet connection
A willingness to try something new
I’ll guide the process step-by-step, and you can pause or take breaks as needed. It’s your session, your pace—and my job is to make it feel supportive and effective.
Is ART Covered by Insurance?
ART may be covered by some out-of-network insurance plans, but I’ll help you understand your options. Many clients prefer self-pay due to the flexibility and privacy it offers—especially when working with specialized, advanced therapy methods like ART.
Ready to Get Started with ART Therapy in Pittsburgh?
If you're ready to explore a faster, research-backed way to heal, virtual ART therapy may be exactly what you need. Whether you're dealing with trauma, anxiety, grief, or emotional overwhelm, you don’t have to face it alone—and you don’t have to spend years in therapy to feel better.
👉 Click here to get started with virtual Accelerated Resolution Therapy:
I’d be honored to walk with you on your healing journey—no matter where you’re starting from.
Peer-Reviewed References:
Kip, K.E., Elk, C.A., Sullivan, K.L., Kadel, R., Lengacher, C.A., Long, C.J., ... & Diamond, D.M. (2013). Brief treatment of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by use of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). Behavioral Sciences, 3(1), 24–40.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3757564/Kip, K.E., Rosenzweig, L., Hernandez, D.F., Shuman, A., Diamond, D.M., & Girling, S.A. (2016). Accelerated Resolution Therapy for treatment of pain secondary to symptoms of combat-related PTSD. Military Medicine, 181(10), 1231–1238.
https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article/181/10/1231/4159263Waits, W., Marumoto, M., & Weaver, J. (2017). Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART): A review of ART and its effectiveness. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1238.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01238/full